The Politics of Equals: Towards a Theory of Equality in Sociology

• In Event: 515 - Theory Section Paper Session. Theorizing Inequalities

Abstract

Sociological studies of inequality and politics often place equality as an end goal, but rarely as a starting point. What happens when equality is the starting point of sociological research? Drawing on the philosophy of Jacques Rancière, this paper creates a sociological theory of politics as equality where the political is the demand for equality from some excluded group or subjectivity. This theory – The Politics of Equals – opens up space for symbolic conceptions of equality and for understanding how research on inequality can cement those categories of inequality. The theory also shows a democratic paradox, where emancipatory movements produce oppressive outcomes.

Author

• Brian T. Connor, University of Massachusetts